A TEACHABLE MOMENT AT HOME (TRUE STORY):

     One morning my son, who was sixteen at the time, came to me. “Ma, I do not understand this poem and for homework I have to describe what it means.”
     I took a look at it and saw it was the famous one by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night." So I asked him, “What do you think it means?”
     He said, “I don’t know.”
     So I told him, “That poem was actually featured in the movie Dangerous Minds, starring Michelle Pfeiffer. They actually discuss the meaning of that poem in the movie.”
     He says, “Great! I’ll look for it on Netflix!”
     I said to him, “You can actually find that on YouTube. But before you do that, read the poem yourself three times and write down what YOU think it means. And then after that, you write down what the movie says. Be sure to let the teacher know that you saw that movie and in your essay, compare and contrast your thoughts against those points made in the movie and the reasons why you felt what you felt.”
      “Okay.” He skips away and returns about fifteen minutes later with handwritten notes written all over his poem.
     I asked, “Did you watch the movie?”
     He said, “No.”
     Now I asked, “What do you think the poem is about?”
     He said, “I think death, but that seems too easy.”
     I now say, “You are absolutely right! That poem is about death. You are a brilliant boy. Stop second guessing yourself. Sweetheart, sometimes the worst thing a person can do for you is to give you all the answers.”